The present invention relates generally to the switching of signals and more particularly to switching a plurality of audio, video and data signals which are carried over twisted-pair wires.
Modem home entertainment systems have available a plethora of electronic systems for reception or playback of audio and video programs. Examples include compact disc players, video cassette recorders, video laser disc players, digital satellite receivers and similar systems. In a typical installation these audio/video sources are located together along with the television set and stereo system, and the audio/video sources are directly connected to the television and stereo system.
There are four problems that typically occur. The first problem is that most television sets have a limited number of auxiliary audio/video inputs available. If the entertainment system is comprised of more audio/video sources than the television can accept, then some sort of external switching equipment must be provided to gain access to the additional sources. Although there are many different types of external switching equipment commercially available, they do not provide any method to alleviate the signal degradation problems discussed next. In addition, these types of external switching equipment can allow noise to be added to the signals because they are directly switching the baseband signals.
The second problem occurs when a television set is located in a different room than the main home entertainment system. Some signals, such as a radio-frequency cable television signal, are easily routed or extended from one room to another be means of a coaxial cable. Other signals, such as the high quality audio and video outputs of a digital satellite receiver system are not easily routed or extended from one room to another because the signals degrade after a short distance. All presently employed methods, such as baseband signals over coaxial cables or channel modulators which send radio-frequency signals over coaxial cables, suffer from signal degradation and loss of audio and video quality.
A third problem also occurs when a television set is located in a different room than the main home entertainment system, and that is allowing for all the different audio and video sources to be fully accessible in the remote location. For example, a common situation is that the remote television set will only have access to the cable television signals, and will not have access to the digital satellite receiver, video laser disc player, or any other equipment located with the main home entertainment system.
One possible solution to this problem would be to install individual cables for each piece of equipment and to extend each one of the signals to the remote room. This solution is usually impractical to consider due to the following problems: It is usually impractical or undesirable to install such a large number of cables within the wall. Many signals cannot be extended in such a manner due to the signal degradation problems discussed above. The remote television set would need an external switching system to select among the large number of audio/video sources. And also, it is difficult to add equipment to such a system due to the difficulty of running additional cabling through the walls to accommodate the additional signals.
The fourth problem occurs when the user is in a listening or viewing area which is located remotely from the source equipment. Because most audio/video source equipment in use is controlled by infrared remotes, and infrared signals do not penetrate walls, this poses a problem when a user is in another room or some other location beyond the range of an infrared remote, since the user would not be able to control the source equipment from the remote location. Some commercially available equipment, commonly known as xe2x80x9cIR Extenders,xe2x80x9d use radio-frequency signals to send the IR commands from one room to another. These units have several drawbacks including difficulty in operating with a multiplicity of transmitters and receivers. Other types of systems send commands over cables to control the source equipment, but these control systems are not part of a switching system for switching audio/video signals.
FIG. 1A illustrates a typical installation using prior art methods, with a main home entertainment system in one room and a second television and/or stereo system in another room. There are multiple sets of cables needed to distribute the various audio, video and control signals. The remote television set will only have access to lower quality audio and video signals rather than the higher quality audio and video signals available to the main home entertainment system. The object of this invention is to avoid these problems encountered with prior-art methods, and provide an apparatus to switch and distribute high-quality audio/video signals over an inexpensive twisted-pair cable.
In summary, known prior efforts for providing a plurality of audio and video signals has not provided for a mechanism such that the audio and video signals may be sent over a significant distance using a low-cost medium such as twisted-pair wires, and sent without any appreciable degradation in the signal quality.
Furthermore, known prior efforts to provide audio and video signals to be routed from audio and video sources has not provided remote control signals so that the sources can be easily controlled from a remote location. The present invention addresses such a need.
It is one object to provide and electronic switching system with a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs, whereby the plurality of inputs allows for a plurality of audio/video sources to be connected to the electronic switching system, and the plurality of outputs allows for a plurality of receiving devices, such as television sets and/or stereo systems, to be connected to the electronic switching system.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system which allows for each of a plurality of outputs to be independently connected to any of a plurality of inputs.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system which allows for any of a plurality of input sources to be connected to multiple outputs simultaneously.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system which allows an external device, such as a television set of stereo system, access to a large number of auxiliary audio/video sources, and provide an easy to use mechanism to select one of these sources.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system which allows for a plurality of external devices, such as television sets and/or stereo systems, to be located remotely from the audio/video sources, and have access to a large number of auxiliary audio/video sources, and provide an easy to use mechanism to select one of these sources so that each remote television set or stereo system has full access to the same audio/video sources as the local television set and stereo system.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system with a plurality of outputs, which allows for a plurality of external devices, such as television sets and/or stereo systems, to share one electronic switching system rather than each external device needing its own switching system to gain access to the plurality of audio/video sources.
It is another object to provide a means whereby the audio/video signals are carried over an inexpensive medium, such as twisted-pair wires, which has the advantage of being easier to install than a large bundle of coaxial cables.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system and a suitable control system which allows for both local control and remote control of the switching matrix.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system and a suitable control system which allows for a plurality of remote control inputs.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system and a suitable data communications system which allows for control signals for the control system of the crosspoint matrix switching system to be sent via the twisted-pair cables from any of the remote locations.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system where the remote control inputs may be comprised of a computer interface, wired remote control, wireless infrared remote control, wireless radio frequency remote control, or additional suitable remote control inputs, either separately or in combination.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system and a suitable control system which includes a plurality of infrared emitters to enable the system to regenerate commands from infrared remote control units, and thereby provide control signals for the audio/video sources connected to the crosspoint matrix switching system.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system and a suitable control system which includes a method to route, either via a routing algorithm or a suitable routing apparatus, the control signals emanating from a particular remote control input to a selected audio/video source, said control signals being routed in a reverse direction that the audio/video signals are.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system which allows for a display to show which input a given output is connected to.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system wherein the signals being switched may be comprised of audio signals, video signals, data signals, modulated carrier signals, or any combination thereof.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system comprised of a crosspoint matrix switching system wherein the audio, video, and data signals have been encoded and combined into a single signal prior to the switching matrix, which has the advantage that any noise added by the switching matrix is prevented from degrading any of the audio, video, or data signals by the encoding and decoding mechanism.
It is another object to provide an encoding and decoding mechanism which allows for the audio/video signals to be transmitted over a substantial distance without any appreciable degradation in the signal quality, so as to allow each of a plurality of receiver units to be located remotely from the electronic switching system.
It is another object to provide an electronic switching system wherein any or all of the audio/video sources may be located remotely from the electronic switching system, as opposed to conventional switching systems which require that the audio/video sources be located in very close proximity to the switching system.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.
A method and system for switching signals over conductors is disclosed. The method and system comprises a plurality of encoders for receiving signals from a plurality of sources. The system further comprises a crosspoint switching matrix means for receiving encoded signals from the plurality of encoders and for providing decoded signals to a plurality of receivers. The crosspoint switching matrix means in a preferred embodiment includes a control system for controlling multiple remote receivers.